Empirical Results
by redrider6612
Summary: This is set around the time of the season 3 finale. Booth finds out about Sweets' 'experiment' and gets pretty steamed. B&B fluff, of course!


**A/N: I started this story way back in May after Pain in the Heart aired and I just found it today and got the urge to complete it. Musie was kind enough to cooperate, so here we are.**

Booth swept into Sweets' office and shut the door behind him quietly. Sweets looked up at him warily.

"Agent Booth? Did we have an appointment?"

Booth put his hands on his hips. "Why didn't you inform Bones that I wasn't dead?"

The psychologist looked puzzled. "We've been over this. I told you, I knew she would be able to handle it. The fewer people who knew—"

"Wrong. Try again." Booth was fairly vibrating with fury. Sweets sat back and wondered where this was coming from. He decided to bluff.

"Look, I don't know why you think I had some other motive, but I assure you, I was only concerned with keeping the information secure as possible."

"Let me help you. Does the word 'experiment' mean anything to you?"

Uh-oh. Sweets jumped to his feet, face flushed. "Now, Agent Booth, I don't know who you've been talking to, but I assure you—"

"Did you experiment on us?"

"I wouldn't really call it an experiment—"

"Did you experiment on us?" Booth repeated, clenching his fists as anger bubbled up.

Sweets took a step towards Booth, a hand out in a placating gesture. "No harm was done—"

Booth's temper blazed out of control and his fist suddenly came around and connected with Sweets' jaw. Sweets stumbled back, clutching his face. "Oww! Why'd you do that?"

"Next time I'll lay you out. We are _not_ lab rats!" Booth rubbed his fist, surprised at how much better he felt.

When Booth was gone, Sweets sat against the edge of the desk, gingerly rubbing the rapidly forming bruise. Seems Dr. Brennan knew Agent Booth better than he had originally thought. After all, she had warned him Booth would hit him.

Booth's next stop was Brennan's apartment. The surprise on her face would have been comical if he wasn't still seething with anger.

"Booth, what is it?"

Booth pushed past her into her living room. He was glaring at her when she turned from closing the door.

"Why didn't you tell me about Sweets' experiment?"

"Because I knew you'd hit him and then you'd get suspended—"

"Nope. I want the _real_ reason." He folded his arms, mouth grim, a muscle working in his cheek.

She folded her arms too and gave him an innocent look. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He waited a few beats, trying to stare her down, but he'd forgotten how stubborn she could be. "C'mon, Bones, you didn't really think I'd get suspended for tapping Sweets, did you?"

"I doubt you'd only 'tap' him, after what he did."

"Guess I have better self-control than you thought."

"What? You hit him?" she asked incredulously.

"Damn right I did. Little weasel. He won't be pulling _that_ again."

"Booth! What if he reports you?"

He shrugged. "I barely touched him. Besides, I don't think he's gonna want anyone to know I hit him and why." He narrowed his eyes at her. "Quit trying to change the subject. Why didn't you tell me?"

She sighed. "I already told you why, but if you don't believe me, that's your problem."

Dropping his arms, Booth moved closer to her, watching her face carefully. "Angela told me you were angry at the funeral."

"Angry? Of course I was. You took a bullet that was meant for me."

"Was that all?" he asked softly, his eyes intent.

Did he imagine the sudden flash of panic in her eyes? He wasn't sure since she turned away at the same moment.

"Can you see yourself out?" she asked over her shoulder as she headed for the dining room table. "My editor's expecting the outline for my new book by Friday—"

"Bones."

She stopped but didn't turn or reply.

"It's okay if you grieved for me. It would have been natural."

She squared her shoulders and turned around, an eyebrow cocked and her lips in a wry twist. "That would stroke your ego, wouldn't it?"

"This has nothing to do with my ego," Booth said with a shake of his head.

"It has everything to do with your ego. You're insulted that I wasn't crying at your funeral."

"Wrong. I'll tell you what I think. Stop me if I get something wrong."

She pursed her lips and raised her brows.

"You were angry at that nut for shooting at you. You were upset with me for stepping in front of that bullet." He paused for effect. "But you were _sad_ that I was dead. Sadder than you've been in a long time."

She sucked in a breath to deny it, but he went on before she could open her mouth.

"Being that sad made you angry. I'm only your partner, you told yourself. It's not like someone you loved died. So you hid your grief with anger, thinking nobody would see it. But you didn't count on me figuring it out."

She bit her lip and looked away, her eyes glassy with tears. Booth waited while she blinked and swallowed hard. When she could speak, she did it without looking at him.

"I thought you had left me, like everyone else I've ever loved. Then I told myself it didn't matter, since we were only partners. But I still couldn't stop feeling like there was a hole in my life, a big hole that nobody could fill." She looked at him then and the pain in her eyes clutched at his heart. "So when it turned out it was a hoax, I was furious. You put me through all that, made me _feel_—" her voice broke on a sob and she couldn't finish.

Two quick strides and they were in each others arms, where they had both wanted to be since his miraculous return from the dead. She clutched at the back of his shirt, fighting back tears. She didn't want to cry any more.

Booth rubbed her back, murmuring incoherently as she burrowed her face into his shoulder. He had held her like this a dozen times over the years, but this time was different. The knowledge that his 'death' had grieved her that deeply brought a new level of awareness. He closed his eyes and breathed in her unique scent, surprised when his head went a little fuzzy. When he made a move to release her, she made a faint sound of protest and pressed harder up against him. Her arms tightened and he went still at the feel of her lips against the sensitive skin of his neck.

"Bones, I don't think we—"

She pulled back a little and his arms fell away, but he froze when her eyes opened and he saw the desire in those crystalline depths.

"Do you want to kiss me, Booth?" Her husky voice sent a thrill down his spine and his brain seized as the idea of kissing her at last sent his thoughts along a well-worn path. A path he'd sworn they'd never go down together.

"I shouldn't—we can't—that's a bad idea," he stammered hoarsely, moving once more to detach himself.

She clutched him harder, refusing to let him hide. "You didn't answer the question," she reminded him as her eyes studied him.

Closing his eyes to shut out her uncharacteristically perceptive gaze, he took a deep, steadying breath. That was a mistake as it heightened his awareness of her body pressed up against him, her scent all around him. Surrendering, he opened his eyes again.

"Yes," he whispered, swallowing hard.

That was all she needed, apparently. Her eyes dropped to his lips, then slid shut as she leaned up to kiss him softly.

Booth's heart threatened to slam out of his chest as he gave in with a groan, wrapping her in his arms once more. Then her lips opened and he took the invitation, deepening the kiss. She was sweeter than anything he'd ever tasted and his senses spun as her tongue stroked along his. Her fingers threaded up into his hair and she strained harder against his body as though she wanted to absorb him.

There had never been any doubt in his mind that they would be good at this. They had touched often enough to tell him the chemistry was there, seething just beneath the surface, waiting for the right trigger to bring it to fruition. He wondered briefly if she had been oblivious as she seemed, but discarded the thought. Nobody could be that obtuse.

As many times as people had assumed they were a couple, she would have realized there was something there to see, some sort of energy vibrating between them. He'd felt it almost from the start. At first he had chalked it up to simple physical attraction. Face it, she was damn fine, in face and body. A man would have to be a eunuch not to notice.

But over the years, as each case taught him more about the person inside the gorgeous package, he fell in love with her. Sure, she could piss him off faster than anyone, with her damn logic and incredible stubbornness, but he knew her heart. He knew how deeply she grieved for the victims, how angry she was at the waste of a human life, how much she loathed the perpetrators that had snuffed a life, often with indifference. He felt the same, but she felt it all so much more deeply. He also knew the deep satisfaction she got from solving cases with him, a satisfaction he shared.

Could they continue as partners if they became lovers? he wondered even as he gathered her closer for one last, deep kiss. He wanted to believe they could, but a lot would depend on their ability to keep their emotions on an even keel. He didn't want to think about what he would do if something happened to her because of their relationship. He'd just have to keep her safe, like he'd been doing over the past few years.

Pulling back, Booth broke the kiss and looked down at her flushed face. She was staring up at him, her amazing eyes dilated, breathing hard, lips swollen. His ego swelled a little. His kiss seemed to have rendered her speechless. Unfortunately the effect was fleeting.

"It seems Sweets was right," she murmured with a slight smile.

"About what?" Booth asked, trying to follow her thoughts.

"We have some very un-partner-like feelings for each other." She pulled away and straightened her top, obviously trying to regain her composure.

"You sound surprised."

Her wide eyes darted up to his. "You're not?"

He shook his head, eyes soft as he watched the emotions crossing her face. "Why do you think I drew the line? I've been working at keeping things platonic between us for a long time."

"And now?"

"I'm tired of fighting it." He shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from grabbing her again. Holding her wasn't conducive to clear thought.

"Okay, so what does that mean for our partnership?" The clinical façade was back.

"We take it one day at a time."

She looked thoughtful. "One day at a time. I can do that."

"So can I." He huffed a laugh. "I guess I should apologize to Sweets."

"You aren't mad at him for manipulating us for his little experiment?"

Booth's grin faded and he reached out to touch her cheek with one finger, stopping her breath. "Not anymore. I kinda like the empirical results."

She licked her lips and blinked against the desire that suddenly swept through her. "Definitely a positive outcome. Maybe we should thank him instead."

"Don't push it. He shouldn't be doing that kind of thing, no matter what the outcome."

"Still, I can't really blame him. As a scientist, I understand the curiosity that can drive the need to test theories."

Booth was starting to get angry again. "We're not lab rats!"

"I'm not saying I approve of his methods. I'm saying I understand his motivation."

"Well, he can just keep his curiosity pointed elsewhere. He pulls a stunt like this again, and I won't be responsible for my actions."

"It's interesting how much your emotions rule your actions," she said in a measured tone that told him the wheels were turning in her brilliant scientific mind.

He held up a warning finger. "Don't even think about it!"

With a husky chuckle she held her hands up innocently. "Don't worry. I wouldn't want you to punch me."

He stepped close once more and she forgot to breathe at the desire that darkened his eyes. "Oh, don't worry. I have other, more," he murmured, touching the pulse fluttering at the side of her neck, "exquisite punishments in mind for you."

Her voice was weak when she could reply. "That doesn't sound too ominous."

"Don't bet on it," he whispered, then dropped his head to give her a brief kiss.

Her toes curled and she clenched her fists to stop herself from touching him. How had she ever fooled herself about her true feelings for him? The blinders were off now and she was overwhelmed by their intensity. She suspected it wasn't going to be easy to compartmentalize this part of her life, but she had to try. If their relationship put him in danger, she didn't know if she could live with the consequences. Hopefully they would never have to find out.

THE END

**A/N 2: What did you think? Was it worth resurrecting it? Please click the little "GO" button and feed the muse so she'll give me some more inspiration. Thank you so much for reading!**


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